Profile: LegalZoom

LegalZoom was a participant or observer in the following events:

The corporate logo of Sleep Train, the first business to remove its advertising from Rush Limbaugh’s show. [Source: Argyle News]Advertisers begin pulling their advertisements from the radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh in response to Limbaugh’s repeated verbal attacks on Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke (see February 29, 2012, March 1, 2012, and March 2, 2012). The day before, Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA) made the following statement: “So I say to the women in this country, do something about this. I say to the women of this country, ask Century 21, Quicken Loans, LegalZoom, and Sleep Number to stop supporting the hate-mongering of Rush Limbaugh and if they do not do that, then I ask them to boycott those companies.” The first to withdraw its ads is mattress retailer Sleep Train, which says a barrage of angry complaints by its customers via Twitter led to its decision. Another bed manufacturer, Select Comfort/Sleep Number, follows suit within hours, posting on its own Twitter account: “Recent comments by Rush Limbaugh do not align w/our values, so we made decision to immediately suspend all advertising on that program.” A steadily increasing number of companies and organizations begin either canceling or suspending their ads, some on a national basis (i.e. via Limbaugh’s employer, Premiere Radio Networks, and that firm’s owner, Clear Channel) and some with local radio stations or regional radio networks. Some of the companies pulling their ads include Quicken Loans (which blames Limbaugh’s “continued inflammatory comments” for its decision), JCPenney, Capital One, AOL (formerly America Online), Citrix, LegalZoom, ProFlowers, Tax Resolution Services, Stamps.com, Polycom Federal, Vitacost, Sensa, and a number of local businesses. [Think Progress, 3/2/2012; MSNBC, 3/2/2012; New York Times, 3/2/2012; MSNBC, 3/2/2012; Joan McCarter, 3/2/2012; Think Progress, 3/2/2012; Think Progress, 3/5/2012; Think Progress, 3/6/2012; Think Progress, 3/6/2012] The online data security firm Carbonite pulls its advertising from Limbaugh’s show, with CEO David Friend writing on Carbonite’s Facebook page and later on its blog: “No one with daughters the age of Sandra Fluke, and I have two, could possibly abide the insult and abuse heaped upon this courageous and well-intentioned young lady. Mr. Limbaugh, with his highly personal attacks on Miss Fluke, overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency. Even though Mr. Limbaugh has now issued an apology (see March 3, 2012), we have nonetheless decided to withdraw our advertising from his show. We hope that our action, along with the other advertisers who have already withdrawn their ads, will ultimately contribute to a more civilized public discourse.” [Carbonite, 3/2/2012] On March 5, the national retailer Sears and men’s outfitter Bonobos also drop their advertising. Sears, which also owns Kmart, posts the following on Twitter: “Sears and Kmart did not intentionally advertise on the Rush Limbaugh show. Sears Holdings has taken actions to ensure our ads do not run on this show. We appreciate our customers, fans, and followers and thank you for your business.” [Think Progress, 3/5/2012]Denying Advertising Connections - Capital One, Domino’s Pizza, eHarmony, AutoZone, LifeQuotes, Oreck, and a number of other firms deny having bought ad time on Limbaugh’s show, with some noting that due to the nature of the type of advertising they have bought, their ads could have been aired during Limbaugh’s show without their knowledge. Many of these firms promise to take action to ensure that their ads do not air during Limbaugh’s show in the future. [Think Progress, 3/2/2012; MSNBC, 3/2/2012; New York Times, 3/2/2012; MSNBC, 3/2/2012; Joan McCarter, 3/2/2012; Think Progress, 3/2/2012]Errors, Lack of Control over Advertising - The non-profit organization Goodwill explains that ads for its organization that ran on a Washington, DC-area Limbaugh broadcast were aired in error, stating: “The Goodwill public service announcement… aired without Goodwill’s knowledge or consent. No further Goodwill public service announcements will be aired without our permission.… The PSA [public service announcement] that aired was intended for a DC-area music station but a sister station that airs Rush Limbaugh ran the PSA without our knowledge or consent.” Amberen, a small company that produces a fat-reduction supplement, explains that it cannot pull its advertising from Limbaugh’s broadcasts on local radio stations, saying: “We understand that some of our customers are concerned that Amberen ads are still airing on the Rush Limbaugh show. Lunada Biomedical assures you that we take these concerns to heart! Most of our employees, including the CEO, are female. And like millions of other Americans we were outraged by Rush Limbaugh’s incendiary and offensive comments. However, we are a small company that buys remnant (leftover) media time and, as such, we cannot, by definition, be considered the ‘sponsors’ of Mr. Limbaugh’s show or, for that matter, any other show. Because we purchase this leftover airtime in bulk, we have no control over when and where our ads are going to be aired. Nor do we have the ability to ‘pull’ ads from any specific show. The only way for us to do that would be to put our entire advertising campaign on hold. Again, because we are a ‘remnant’ and not a ‘premium’ advertiser, this action will exert no influence on Mr. Limbaugh’s show.” Several companies, such as insurance giants Allstate and Geico, home remodeling service provider ServiceMagic.com, weight loss seller RightSize, and online film and DVD rental outlet Netflix, say they do not advertise on Limbaugh’s broadcasts, and any ads airing during his show were placed in error by local radio stations. [Atlantic Wire, 3/5/2012; Think Progress, 3/5/2012; Mark Frauenfelder, 3/6/2012]

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